NAIROBI, Kenya, 19 January 2021, -/African Media Agency (AMA)/- The END Fund is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Moses John Bockarie as a board member, and welcomes Dr. Caroline Karutu who will be the new Head of Programs. Bockarie has been involved in the control of NTDs for over 30 years while Karutu has extensive experience designing and leading large scale public health programs.
Bockarie holds MSc and PhD degrees from the Liverpool school of Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom for his research on NTDs and malaria transmission research in Sierra Leone, the Gambia and Mali. He also undertook postdoctoral studies on NTDs in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, and the United States.
Bockarie serves as the Regional Director for Africa for the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), where he is also the legal representative of the organisation in South Africa. In his new capacity as a board member, Professor Bockarie will play a crucial role in fostering innovative technical approaches to ending NTDs, as well as exploring newer funding streams for NTD programs.
Prof. Bockarie said: “I look forward to bringing my extensive NTD research and resource mobilisation experience to the END Fund. I hope to continue working with regional bodies, academic institutions, and national disease control programmes to ensure expanded reach to affected populations.”
The END FUND’s new Head of Programs, Dr. Karutu has been a senior level career expert for nearly 20 years. Prior to her latest appointment, Dr. Karutu was the Chief of Party for the USAID-funded Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Eastern Uganda (RHITES-E) Project.
For her doctorate degree in public health, Dr. Karutu gathered evidence to improve retention of women living with HIV in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV programs in Kenya. Dr. Karutu’s expertise includes identifying and strengthening health service delivery gaps and building partnerships with governments and local communities for sustainable solutions.
Dr. Karutu will be responsible for managing project investments that the END Fund makes on behalf of investors. These include a portfolio of sub-funds that have been created to ensure that millions of Africans who are at risk of NTDs have the opportunity to live healthy and prosperous lives.
Dr. Karutu said: “I am looking forward to working with technical experts and cross-sector stakeholders in scaling up the impact of our NTD programs. Over the next decade, the END Fund’s work is going to be instrumental in ameliorating the quality of life for millions of people affected by these preventable illnesses. More than ever, it is critical that our programs are strategically positioned to reach the most vulnerable and marginalized people in society.”
Ellen Agler, CEO of the END Fund described the addition of Prof. Bockarie and Dr. Karutu as hugely influential in the organization’s efforts to move the needle forward on ending these diseases.
Agler said: “Professor Bockarie and Dr. Karutu are visionaries whose wealth of knowledge and experiences will strengthen our efforts to create a world free of parasitic worms. We are confident that they will play significant roles in our efforts to foster stronger partnerships, mobilize resources, and scale up NTD treatments.”
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of the END Fund
About the END Fund:
The END Fund is the only private philanthropic initiative solely dedicated to ending the five most common neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which affect more than 1.7 billion people globally. It efficiently puts private capital to work, advocating for NTD programs that are innovative, integrated, and cost-effective. It facilitates strong partnerships with the private sector and has supported national disease control programs in 30 countries.
Since its founding in 2012, with its partners, the END Fund has provided over 740 million donated treatments worth over $1 billion, over 12,900 surgeries for people suffering from the effects of the advanced stages of elephantiasis and trachoma, and trained more than 1.4 million people in NTD control and elimination efforts.
